Gaming houses, casinos, and the like are the consumers of large numbers of playing cards, each deck thereof being comprised of 52 basic cards used in conducting various games such as Poker, Blackjack and Bakerat. The standardized sizes of playing cards vary, the smaller cards being 21/4.times.31/2 inch, and the larger cards being 21/2.times.31/2 inch. These are the widely used sizes of reusable plastic cards that are this day replacing more expendable paper cards. However, continued use of plastic cards requires their frequent cleaning, as they are handled by countless numbers of persons and are subject to soiling with greasy hands, food and drink. Further, the card players demand clean cards, and it has been former practice of the gaming houses and casinos to wash them by hand or by cleaning apparatus such as the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,995 issued Mar. 19, 1985 to John C. Zippwald, Sr. It is a general object of this invention to improve upon the Zippwald apparatus for the cleaning of playing cards,whether they be of paper or plastic, and whether they be of the small or large standard size.
Playing cards are made of stiff paper or plastic of about 0.012 inch in thickness and having a hard and smooth finish. They are susceptible to becoming soiled and dirty when handled by person after person, it being an object of this invention to clean playing cards in public establishments, for the purpose of improving health conditions, as well as to enhance the condition of the cards for playing and to preserve them.
The apparatus for cleaning playing cards as it will be described herein involves separation of individual cards from a deck thereof and sequentially feeding, separating, scrubbing and drying the same, and reestablishing the cards in deck formation. It is an object of this invention to automate the foregoing generalized process steps by providing complementary means therefor. With the present invention, automation is by electric motor means and inherently synchronized and virtually jamb-proof means, there being the discrete application of a liquid cleaning solution whereby the individual cards are wetted, scrubbed and dried.
Decks of playing cards are commonly stored in a box of one or more decks, and it is such a feed box in which decks of cards are loaded into the apparatus of the present invention. It is an object of this invention to provide an extracting means that withdraws one card at a time from the shoe supply thereof and separates and feeds them sequentially to a scrubbing means. It is also an object of this invention to provide scrubbing means that applies an adequate amount of liquid cleaning solution to both top and bottom scrubbing rollers for cleaning both sides of the cards while transporting them to a drying means. And it is also an object of this invention to provide a drying means that absorbs moisture from the opposite top and bottom sides of the cards and delivers them into a receptacle for their subsequent use in a cleaned condition.
A characteristic feature of the apparatus as it will be hereinafter described is the use of effective liquid solutions for performing dirt loosening, scrubbing and wipe-clean functions, step by step, and the use of softening agents of the non ionic and cationic types. It is an object of this invention to reduce and/or to prevent "static cling", which would otherwise interfere with the transport and discharge of the playing cards. With the present invention the aforesaid softening agents are in a solution of carbonated water transfered to the opposite sides of the cards in a thin film simultaneously with a scrubbing action; a solution for dirt removal and adapted to be wiped clean.
Cleanliness is the foremost requirement of playing card cleaning, and it is obvious that the apparatus collects dirt and grime. In practice dripping of moisture from the cleaning operation is minimal, since the scrubbing rollers pick up and transfer a discrete thin film of cleaning solution. However, it is necessary to transfer cleaning solution from bottom rollers to top rollers, this being done at the plane of playing card transport. Consequently, the playing cards must be adequately spaced, it being an object of this invention to space the playing cards as they are extracted from the deck supply thereof. It is also an object of this invention to improve and optimize the lifting and distribution of cleaning solution by bottom to top rollers from a reservoir or trough for application to both the bottoms and tops of the cards. Transfer of solution to the top rollers is between the sequentially spaced cards, The bottom scubbing roller alternately scrubs the bottom of a card and transfers solution to its companion top roller which then scrubs the top of the next following card.
As stated above, the apparatus collects dirt and grime, and therefore must be serviced and cleaned on a regular basis. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide access to both the scrubbing and drying sections of the apparatus, and to the cleaning soluton reservoir or trough. Characteristically, and a unique feature of this apparatus is the modular combination of rollers and roller-belt transport means, wherein the entire mechanism is cantilevered from a supporting back wall, the rollers and belts, reservoir troughs, tensioners being completely exposed and accessible at the front of the apparatus. Observation of the card cleaning operaton is not impaired in any way, nor is access for correction and service and cleaning.